Why did Henry VIII marry six times?

Year 7

Why did Henry keep on getting married?

• Did Henry VIII marry for PERSONAL reasons or POLITICAL reasons?

• PERSONAL = to do with his emotions and own feelings.

• POLITICAL = to do with running the country and keeping it under the king’s control.

Click on Henry for more on the kind of man he was.

Catherine of Aragon (1509-33)• She was the daughter of the

King of Spain.• Henry knew that he might

have to fight a war with the King of France and that he would need all the help he could get.

• Henry wanted a son to follow him as King.

What happened?• Catherine gave birth to a

daughter – Mary – but by 1533 was too old to have any more children. (She had been married to Henry for 24 years.)

• Henry divorced her.

Anne Boleyn (1533-36)

• She was a young and beautiful lady-in-waiting (assistant) to the queen.

• Henry wanted a son to follow him as King.

What happened?• Catherine gave birth to a

daughter – Elizabeth, but when she became pregnant again her baby boy was born already dead.

• Henry executed her.

Jane Seymour (1536-37)

• She was a young and beautiful lady-in-waiting (assistant) to the queen.

• Henry wanted a son to follow him as King.

What happened?• Jane gave birth to a son –

Edward, but she became ill soon after his birth and died a few weeks later.

Anne of Cleves (1540)• She was the daughter of a

powerful German prince.• Henry thought the

King of France might try to invade England. Henry needed all the help he could get to fight this threat.

• Henry was shown this picture of her and thought she was pretty.

What happened?• When Henry actually met

her, he called her the ‘Mare of Flanders’ – in other words he thought she had a face like a horse.

• Henry divorced her.

Catherine Howard (1540-42)

• She was a young and beautiful lady-in-waiting (assistant) to the queen.

What happened?• Katherine was

accused of having affairs with other men.

• Henry executed her.

Katherine Parr (1543-47)• Henry was quite old now and

often ill. He did not enjoy being on his own.

• Henry had three children and he wanted someone to help him look after them.

What happened?• Katherine was a good

stepmother to Henry’s children. She helped to patch up a big argument he had with his daughter Mary.

• Henry died before her, and she re-married, but she carried on looking after Henry’s youngest daughter Elizabeth.

Henry VIII’s England and other countries

ENGLAND

SCOTLAND (FRANCE’S ally)

FRANCE

SPAIN

GERMAN PRINCES

(Mostly PROTESTANT)

NETHERLANDS(belongs to

SPAIN)

ITALIAN PRINCES (Allies with FRANCE

or SPAIN

NAPLES (belongs to

SPAIN)

ROME (POPE)

English Channel

Mediterranean Sea

Religion and Henry’s six marriages• Catherine of Aragon had been married to Henry’s older brother, Arthur. When he died, the

Pope gave special permission for Henry to marry his brother’s widow. As time went on Henry wondered if God was punishing him for doing this by not giving him a son. He knew that parts of the Bible said it was wrong to marry your brother’s widow.

• The Pope refused to allow Henry to divorce Catherine of Aragon. She was the King of Spain’s aunt and the Pope did not want to upset him. Henry got round this problem by making himself the head of the Church in England – effectively he could now allow himself to get divorced! Those who followed the Protestant side of Christianity believed he could do this, so England became a Protestant country.

• The Protestant Church had started in Germany, so most of the German Princes were Protestants. They were the obvious rulers for Henry to try to make an alliance with after England became a Protestant country as they were also opposed to the Catholic Kings of Spain and France.

• Apart from Germany, there were very few other protestant countries, so it is not surprising that most of Henry’s wives were English – Catholic rulers were not keen to be related to the Protestant King of England.

What were the religious beliefs of Henry VIII’s wives?

• Catherine of Aragon – Catholic – longest marriage• Anne Boleyn - Protestant• Jane Seymour - Protestant• Anne of Cleves – Protestant – shortest marriage• Catherine Howard - Catholic• Katherine Parr - Protestant